Love is Just a Game
by merurikku
Summary: COMPLETE! Draco and Hermione, Love and Hate. Is it true that Draco's loved her all along? Ohh... read on to find out.
1. Chapter 1: And So it Begins

CHAPTER 1  
  
By Rikks  
  
SEMI IMPORTANT: I had to re-upload the first four chapters of this story after they were originally uploaded because for some reason it wasn't showing up in the searches. I added a review of my own which have the old reviews on it so you can see what others have thought about it so far.. kinda confusing but you'll see. THIS STORY WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 8-11-03  
  
A/N- This is 6th year HP, but just ignore book 5 for this fic because if I based my fic as if that book had happened, it would be too complicated. So yeah.. actually, you can pretend Cedric didn't even die in book 4 if you wish. Now to explain something else... in the real book I love the Ron/Hermione pairing (I love Ron), but I've read some fics that make me like the Hermione/Draco pairing in the fic world.. so here is my attempt. (P.S. Book 5 was great wasn't it??!!)  
  
Also, I wrote this a while ago at,like, 3 in the morning so some of it is really... bad/weird. Don't mind it. I'll try to make it better later on.  
  
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"Ron, aren't you finished with that potions essay yet?" Hermione exasperatingly said. Ron, having written an inch of the required foot long essay awoke from a stupor. "What are you talking about?! I'm almost finished!" he insisted while slapping his hand on the parchment.  
  
This was when Ron looked down and saw how much he'd actually written. He blushed slightly but quickly came up with, "Well it's not due for two days anyway, I don't see why you're making us do this now!" Harry, who was sitting next to Ron and working on the same paper, gave him a sympathetic look. "Why does Hermione make us do anything early? To help us... in her own twisted way." "Oh, you two sound as if I'm actually forcing your hands to write words onto the paper... besides, it's not EARLY Harry. You should have done it yesterday when it was assigned."  
  
Hermione sighed. These two would never learn. She had a feeling she would have to be helping them all throughout the rest of Hogwarts. And what with NEWTs coming up only next year...  
  
"Look, whether you finish or not is none of my business... either you fail or you don't. Either way, I'm going to bed seeing as it's past eleven o' clock." With this she stomped away, leaving the two boys to their work. As she climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitories however, she chanced a quick look back to see if they were working. She heard Ron say, "Honestly, I don't see the point. NEWTs are still ages away," but saw him continue working nonetheless. And so, satisfied, Hermione went up to her dorm.  
  
The next day she woke up to sunlight streaming through her window. It was Thursday, so their first class was Charms. She got up and threw on her school robes. She then quickly ran a brush through her hair and bounced downstairs. Harry and Ron were already there waiting for her. "Jeez, finally up? We thought you were going to make us miss breakfast," complained Ron, though he smiled at her as a greeting first.  
  
Hermione didn't know about Ron these days. At one point, she thought he liked her, though she was unsure of her own true feelings. Harry, however, had always been just a good friend, nothing more. Hermione had silently thanked Harry for that, because the whole Ron thing was a bit confusing. She had enough to worry about, what with keeping up her grades and all. It seemed to be over though, as Ron hadn't expressed jealousy towards other boys asking Hermione out for quite some time now. Maybe it was because he knew she always turned them down ("I don't have time for a relationship right now"), but then again, maybe he never had feelings for her after all.  
  
Hermione shook the thoughts from her head and led the way down to the Great Hall.  
  
_______________________________________________________________________ A/N- K, ya well hoped you liked it. A bit short though it is, the whole story isn't going to be the longest thing in the world either because whenever I start REALLY long stories, I never finish... heehee. Don't let that stop you from reading this one though! Wow, that's short... Oh well, I'll try to post up another soon.  
  
Also sorry if there are any typos... I'm too lazy to fix them if there are.  
  
And about the language.. I've read things from people who are like, "I hate it when people don't use proper British terms when writing Harry Potter fics because HP is based in England and people should recognize that." Well, sucks for you all because I'm not going to try really hard to sound English cuz it'll just be.. weird. I am an American after all and therefore, I speak Americanly... (x.x word choice?) Every so often it might sound correct, though, because I've gotten into the habit of speaking semi- British anyway...  
  
Ya.. well please review!!  
  
-RIKKU 


	2. Chapter 2: Trouble

CHAPTER 2  
  
Upon reaching the Great Hall, the trio noticed that there seemed to be a road blockage in the doorway. Everyone was stopping to look at something and they were all talking at once. "Well this is nice. Now we won't have time to eat before Charms," complained Ron, who really wasn't upset at all because he thought that the delay might mean they would get to miss some of class.  
  
Hermione poked a Ravenclaw girl who was standing nearby in the arm. The girl turned around looking quite distraught. "What's going on?" Hermione asked her bossily. "Draco Malfoy in Slytherin has just done something bad!" the girl stated hastily before pushing her way through the crowd to get more towards the front.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other questioningly. They wondered what Draco Malfoy could have possibly done so that the entire school finally realized how horrible he was. They tried to push through the crowd just as the Ravenclaw girl had done but didn't have much luck as nobody wanted to lose their spot in the front. Suddenly, before they could see what was going on, they heard Professor McGonagall's voice shouting across the Great Hall for everyone to be silent. And silent everyone became...  
  
"We know who was responsible for this! Step forward!" she called to the silent student body. After nobody stepped up..."Come forward, Mr. Malfoy, everyone in this room knows it was you." Through the silence came a very loud curse and footsteps were heard. "Wish we could see what was happening," whispered Ron. "Ya, me too," Harry whispered back. "Shuttup you two, I'm trying to hear what's going on," snapped Hermione, but there were no other sounds... there was only silence.  
  
"Everyone go to your common rooms and breakfast will be served there for this morning. You may have an extra fifteen minutes until class starts because of this... interruption," McGonagall continued, thought she sounded upset that she was giving the students extra free-time when they should be learning.  
  
"Damn, only wish it was Potions we were missing fifteen minutes of!" Ron complained, though he looked slightly happier than when they had first reached the Great Hall entrance. "Ya me too," agreed Harry, "but what do you think Malfoy was up to?" "He must have pulled some sort of stupid prank... or at least I hope it was that harmless," joined in Hermione. "Well it probably was..." said Ron, entering the doorway to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
When the three entered the room, they were met by a blast of noise. Every Gryffindor was smushed into a tight bundle and each one was talking without listening to anyone else. "At that rate we'll never get any information from anybody," grumbled Harry, looking around the room for any sign of an empty seat. Just as they found a seat far enough from the crowd, silence fell across the room.  
  
Hermione looked up to see what the trouble was. Trouble was not to be seen, only a *slightly* angry looking McGonagall standing in the entrance to the room. "The breakfast will be up in a minute, but I am going around to all of the houses to tell you all not to worry. Nothing serious has happened, so you all can stop talking about it now. Those of you who saw what happened in the Great Hall would be better off not to tell anyone else." With these words, she left from whence* she came.  
  
Ron looked at Hermione with a confused expression on his face. "Wait, but if it's not anything important, how come we're not allowed to talk about it?" he asked her. She thought for a second before replying, "Well, I'm not sure. But it is a bit odd, isn't it?"  
  
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*from whence may be redundant, but proper writers use it as well. I could have just used whence, but from whence sounded better in the sentence, did it not?  
  
A/N: Me and my half-baked plots...*making story up as she goes along*  
  
Haha, the language that I use.. don't hate it; LOVE it. ~Rikks 


	3. Chapter 3: Of Potions and Detentions

Chapter 3  
  
After breakfast, Ron, Hermione, and Harry headed down to the Charms classroom. They had Charms with the Slytherins this year and all three of them, though none of them had voiced it aloud, were hoping that they'd hear exactly what had happened this morning. If any one else had done it, they wouldn't have been as interested. But when Draco Malfoy does something, everybody wants to know about it for one reason or another.  
  
Malfoy had become quite popular with girls in the past couple of years. Despite his personality, almost every girl in the school liked him for his looks. There were only a few people who couldn't even see how others thought of him as attractive. These were people like Hermione Granger who knew what a horrible person Malfoy was and couldn't look past that.  
  
This morning, Draco Malfoy wasn't seen in Charms. Hermione tried to hear the conversations that the other Slytherins were having to see if they were saying anything about him. She even went as far as sitting as close as possible to Crabbe and Goyle; the last thing she'd ever do on a normal occasion.  
  
Alas, all of this work did no good. By the end of Charms, the only thing Hermione had accomplished was getting a stone shot at her by Goyle in the middle of reviewing the summoning charm. Ron and Harry hadn't really heard anything either. Ron swore he heard Pansy Parkinson say that Draco had made McGonagall's underwear fly around the Great Hall, but Hermione told him he was hearing (and wishing) things. This upset Ron and made him blush. He didn't speak to Hermione for the whole next period, which was History of Magic.  
  
By lunchtime, Hermione, Harry, and Ron still had no clue what had happened because surprisingly, everybody who had seen the incident had listened to McGonagall and not said anything. "Well maybe it is something serious then," commented Ron, while they were eating. "Oh, come on Ron, it doesn't really matter does it? McGonagall said not to worry so just drop the subject," Hermione spat. She was getting kind of annoyed herself because, being a nosy person, she really wanted to know what had happened; important or not important.  
  
After lunch, the three friends headed to the dungeons for their Potions lesson. They sat down in their usual seat at the back of the room. When class started and Malfoy still hadn't shown up (they had Potions with the Slytherins as well) Snape yelled to the back of the room, "Ms. Granger, hurry and move up front to Mr. Malfoy's usual seat. I need the front of the room filled and I'd prefer to have you up here than someone like Neville who might burn up my desk." He sneered at Neville, and Neville cowered in his seat. Hermione shrugged and gathered her things to move to the front of the room.  
  
Soon, Snape had the class working on an extremely complicated potion. 'He's in a bit of a bad mood today,' thought Hermione to herself, who, for the second time today, was forced to sit near Malfoy's cronies. "Help me with my potion!" demanded Crabbe, who was unfortunately her seating partner for the day. "Do your own potion!" she snapped at him.  
  
Bad timing it was, because at that moment, Snape was standing just behind them looking over their progress. "Ah, Ms. Granger, not willing to help a fellow student in need? Detention! Tonight! And help Mr. Crabbe," he happily exclaimed before walking away to bother other Gryffindors, most likely Harry. Hermione fumed. Not only was it unfair that she had detention, but she also had to now do two potions instead of one because helping Crabbe meant doing all of the work. She finished her own potion just as class ended.  
  
Snape assigned them a large essay due the next day for homework, and reminded Hermione, "Detention tonight, don't forget! You'll find out what time at dinner..." Instead of sounding cheerful this time however, he sounded angry and sour as usual. Hermione tried her best not to retort anything at him, and gathered her stuff very quickly before hurrying off to her next class.  
  
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At dinner, Hermione received a note about her detention stating that she would be meeting Filch in a certain classroom at eleven thirty that night. "Great," she mumbled, while pushing the note towards Harry. "What? Snape's assigned you a detention for tonight?! Sucks for you," he said to her with a great look of pity. "Why should it suck any more than usual?" she questioned, half knowing what the answer would be. "Well, you know if Malfoy's done something wrong he'll have detention lined up for weeks!" Ron answered for Harry. Hermione shook her head. "Great... that makes it all the more fun..." she mumbled.  
  
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A/N: Hey look! It's longer than the last two chapters (only by a little.. but so what)! I think it's a bit better as well (a BIT I said)... most likely due to the fact that I wrote it early so I wasn't tired (well sorta early: 11-12 ish at night... and I wasn't very tired anyway...) It was easier to write too! Dunno why that is...  
  
And look! I think I'm going to go start on the next chapter right away! Hurray for me.  
  
Ok, is it wrong of me that I've forgotten if they mention whether or not they have their classes with the same houses every year? Well, if they do sucks for that fact because I've just messed it up by putting Gryffindor with Slytherin in Charms... unless they were like that already...jeez wow, guess I need to go through the series again *has already,like, a thousand times*.  
  
Yay! Please review, I love to hear what people think of my oh so fascinating stories! I especially want to know what people think about the semi-normal stories ones like this one ^^. My odd ones get reviewed a lot more x.x. 


	4. Chapter 4: The Detention

A/N- Are my chapters too short? Well, obviously they're short, but are they so short that you can't stand it? Tell me in reviews lol x.x cuz then I'll lengthen them a bit. I just get very anxious and post when I find a good spot to stop a chapter at.  
  
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Chapter 4  
Hermione left the Gryffindor common room at ten after eleven, wanting to leave herself extra time to get to the designated classroom. Everyone knew that you were more than likely to receive another detention for being late to a first (though Filch wished he could do more than just give detentions...)  
  
Hermione had already finished her homework, including the incredibly long potions essay, which Ron and Harry were most likely still working on. This left her almost worry free about her detention that night. It wasn't that she was worried about WHAT she'd be doing. It was that she worried about WHO she'd be doing it with. She arrived at the unused classroom with eight minutes to spare, and so she sat down in an empty chair pushed up against a wall. She only had to wait a couple of minutes before the last person she wanted to see walked in.  
  
Draco Malfoy looked surprised to see her there. Apparently he thought he would be having detention alone. Hermione was not surprised at all, only disappointed. She was hoping that Malfoy might still be in too much trouble to be even be allowed to go to detention, which was obviously not the case.  
  
After glancing at her and jumping a bit, Malfoy averted his gaze from Hermione and sat down on the other side of the room. Though Hermione could have been imagining it, it seemed as if Malfoy kept glancing at her. She shrugged to herself and waited most patiently for Filch to arrive and tell her what she must do.  
  
At exactly eleven thirty, Filch marched into the room accompanied by Mrs. Norris*. He was looking a bit too cheerful for Hermione's liking, but as expected she stood up and waited for orders. "You two, my dears, will be going into the forest tonight!" he said. "I won't be telling you what you're doing, but you'll be with Hagrid. I'm sure you both remember your last little visit with Hagrid into the forest," he said, smirking.  
  
Hermione was upset. Not only was the forest scary enough, but now she had to be in it with Malfoy again. At least the last time, in second year, she wasn't stuck walking with him. But now it seemed that she and Malfoy would be spending plenty of quality time together. She chanced a quick look over at Malfoy and was surprised to see that he didn't look as angry as she thought he would.  
  
The two of them followed behind Filch though Hermione left at least five feet of space between Malfoy and herself. They exited the castle and quickly made their way across the grounds to Hagrid's hut. When they reached it, Filch gave a few short knocks on the door and Hagrid answered immediately. Hermione and Hagrid looked at each other and nodded as a greeting because they knew better than to act too friendly in front of Filch. "All right, Hagrid, I'll be leaving them here," he said adding, "make sure they come out alive," as a taunting chant.  
  
Hermione glared at his back as he retreated back to the castle with a bit of a skip in his step. She then looked at Hagrid and asked, "Is it really THAT bad, Hagrid?" Hagrid shook his head in a pitying way and replied, "Well, don't worry yerself. We're bringin' Fang." This didn't comfort Hermione much, but she thought, 'At least Malfoy is suffering too.' This is when she realized that Malfoy was staring at her.  
  
She glared back at him, figuring he was looking at her hatefully. But strangely, when she looked into his eyes, there was no trace of hate whatsoever. Hermione chose to ignore this fact and looked back at Hagrid. Hagrid called Fang from inside the house and shut the door. Hagrid, Hermione, Malfoy, and Fang then made their way to the forest. Hermione did her best to ignore Malfoy and pretend he was not there but found it a bit difficult because he spoke up at that very moment. "Are you going to tell us what we're doing or not?" he said to Hagrid, attempting to sound tough but with a slight hint of fear in his voice.  
  
Hermione remembered the last time they went into the forest. Malfoy had been scared stiff. 'Haha, I might even enjoy this,' Hermione thought, trying to cheer herself up.  
  
"Er, well ye see..." Hagrid struggled, trying to find the words to tell them what they were doing. "I told 'em ye were too young for this job but, er, well Filch insisted and Dumbledore okayed it..." "Well then, ya big oaf, where are we going?" Malfoy spat out. Hagrid didn't even look insulted. He quickly said, "Well, there's this dragon got loose, see? And mind ye, it's no baby dragon like Nor..." glancing at Malfoy, he changed his mind about mentioning Norbert, "I mean to say well, there's a full grown dragon bustin' up the forest and killin' all sorts o' animals and we're s'posed to go in there and...er... catch it."  
  
Hermione looked at Hagrid with disbelief for a moment before saying, "But Hagrid, how will Malf... I mean Draco and I be of any help in a situation with a dragon? We don't have any skills special enough for these circumstances..." "Well, ye see, Hermione. Yer the bait...mind you, you won't get hurt with me an' Fang hidin' right nearby and all. And they're havin' you two do it cuz yer both pretty smart... and it'll all be okay."  
  
With this he quickened his pace and entered the dark woods.  
  
"What? Is the oaf joking? We can't do something foolish like that! We'll be eaten!" Malfoy complained to Hermione. "Well, it didn't sound as if he was joking did it? Besides we can't refuse or we might be expelled!" Hermione replied as if she were speaking to Harry or Ron before she realized with whom she was speaking. She quickened her pace as well so that she moved ahead of Malfoy.  
  
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*Poor, Poor Mrs. Norris :(. If she's a kitty she can't be all that bad!  
  
A/N- Okay well ya... if you can't tell I just made up what they had to do for detention just now and I couldn't think of anything better... well I could think of better stuff but none of it was "scary" just...weird. It may seem a bit odd, but just think: if you had to go be bait for a dragon you'd be scared too. Just pretend it's good, ok? Especially you, Meru!!! Thank you.  
  
Wow, I'm proud! Two chapters in one night. AND they're my longest so far. *Is proud*. I do think they're a bit better than the others as well... they may not make sense, but at least now the stories semi-going somewhere! Whee!  
  
Reviews are greatly appreciated! 


	5. Chapter 5: Dragon Bait

A/N-Stupid thing won't show up in the search engine.. well at least not for me. Hmm if anybody knows why please let me know! lol  
  
Sorry for any typos, my microsoft word broke so i have to use some program without spell check and the way i spell check wasn't working right now.. so sorry ahead of time.  
  
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Chapter 5  
The forest seemed especially dark to Hermione tonight, but that was most likely due to the fact that she was pretty much alone in there with Malfoy. Ron and Harry weren't there to cheer her up. Hagrid wasn't helping much either, because he wouldn't get within speaking distance of her: probably because he didn't want to discuss the dragon. Hermione didn't know what to expect from Malfoy. At any given moment he could curse her and nobody would be able to do much about it. This is why she kept her hand in her robes, right beside her wand... just in case.  
  
Despite her efforts to stay ahead of Malfoy, he seemed to be keeping right beside her. Apparently he didn't mind walking beside her as much as he pretended he would hate it. Just as Hermione was going to try a different tactic of slowing down to stay behind him, Hagrid stopped just ahead. Fang, at Hagrid's heels, had become still and alert. Hagrid turned around slowly and motioned for the two to come to him.  
  
"Hagrid, is it the dragon?" questioned Hermione as silently as she could. Hagrid, smiling at the thought of a dragon being so nearby, nodded and motioned for them to go ahead of him. Against her will, Hermione looked over at Draco helplessly. He seemed as scared as she felt, so at least she wasn't in this alone. Draco and Hermione walked slowly forward. Hermione looked back over her shoulder just in time to see Hagrid pulling out an umbrella and taking Fang to hide behind a bush. "You'd think they'd get the ministry for a job like this! Or something..." muttered Malfoy to himself more than to Hermione.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud crash up ahead. Hermione, without thinking, quickly clutched Malfoy's arm. It seemed to occur to Malfoy that a Mudblood was clutching to his arm a few moments later and he shook her off, though he didn't look angry at all. The two inched forward, both shaking viciously. Suddenly a large figure entered their vision. It was the dragon. It looked like a Norwegian Ridgeback, just like Norbert had been. But before Hermione could ponder on the subject much longer, the dragon saw them.  
  
"Er, Hermione? I think this is the time to run back to Hagrid..." Malfoy whimpered, turning around and following his own orders. Hermione followed suit and soon the two were running the thirty or so feet back to where Hagrid and Fang hid. The dragon followed them, taking the bait. When the dragon was close enough, Hagrid jumped out from behind a bush and cast a stupor spell on him with his wand*. The dragon immediately froze in place.  
  
Draco and Hermione were standing feet behind Hagrid and were both still shaking. Hermione then realized that she was clutching Draco's arm and this time he had not shaken her off. "Oh sorry," she apologized, removing her grip. Hagrid turned to them and said, "Great work ye two! Couldn'ta done it without ye!" He was looking a bit too cheerful for the moment, but Hermione wasn't surprised because she knew how much Hagrid liked dragons. "Are we done, Hagrid?" she asked, hopefully. "Er, well almost. All ye two haveta do is report to Professor Dumbledore and tell him how it went and all. I'll walk ye up to his office now..." he replied.  
  
"What about the, uh, dragon?" Malfoy said, motioning his hand in the general direction of the dragon without looking at it. "Oh don't ye two worry about that. We'll leave him here fer now and I'll come back in a bit to move him." With that, the four of them started towards the castle.  
  
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Hagrid had already dropped Hermione and Malfoy off at the statue that was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He'd already said the password ("Non- Pariels"), and was already on his way back to the dragon. Malfoy and Hermione stepped onto the moving stairway and reached the top in a matter of seconds. Malfoy then took the liberty of knocking on the office door.  
  
Dumbledore answered looking quite cheerful. "Ah, hello you two. Did you, er, enjoy that delightful detention?" he asked them. Hermione looked at him in disbelief and Malfoy just shuddered. Dumbledore's face went concerned. "Weren't you even excited about meeting a famous dragon?" "A... famous dragon, sir?" questioned Hermione, looking up at him baffled. "Yes of course, did nobody tell you? He's the dragon on that television show.. er what's it called.. yes well sorry I've forgotten the name but you know him, right? He's trained and everything, otherwise I wouldn't have let them put you up to the job of finding him," he said looking slightly bewildered at the fact that nobody had mentioned to the students that the dragon was well near harmless.  
  
"Ya, ya I've seen him before," Malfoy agreed, a bit more relieved sounding than before.  
  
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* Yes I do remember in Book 4 that one person is not enough to stupefy a dragon, but sucks for me because like I said, I'm making this up as I go along so when things like this happen there's not much I can do about it.ooo long sentence  
  
A/N- Yes... I know, it's a famous dragon -_-. Let's not dwell on that too much... especially you Meru (if you ever get around to reading this chapter :P).  
  
Reviews are welcomed and, er, needed might I say! 


	6. Chapter 6: This Seems Familiar

Chapter 6  
  
Malfoy had to stay behind to discuss his wrong-doings with Dumbledore, and so Hermione left the office alone and headed back to Gryffindor tower. She still had no idea of what Malfoy did, but it couldn't have been THAT bad if his detention was capturing a famous dragon... though she personally thought the task was frightening. It hadn't even been so bad having to spend a whole evening with Malfoy (though she'd never tell Ron or Harry). He hadn't said anything mean to her, and had even let her hold on to his arm when she was afraid....  
  
'Which,' she told herself mentally, 'was a total accident. I never meant to grab on to him... I was just frightened.' Truth be told, Hermione didn't mind holding Malfoy's arm. It was a very comfortable arm to hold onto...  
  
Hermione reached Gryffindor tower unharmed and semi-content. Her detention was over, Malfoy had been nice.. er, well as nice as she thought he COULD be to her, and she had no more homework. 'I bet the boys are still working on that essay,' she thought, just as she stepped through the portrait of the Fat Lady. Sure enough, Ron and Harry were still "working" on their essays, if you could call Ron resting his head on his (and drooling, which made Hermione believe he was asleep) and Harry staring off into space with his quill held over his working on them.  
  
Hermione shook her head, and walked up to their table. Harry saw her and immediately pretended to be scribbling away at his work. "Harry, how much have you done?" Hermione asked, just trying to embarrass him. Harry muttered something that sounded like, "A sentence," before setting down his quill to ask Hermione about her detention. "It was all right I guess. Malfoy was there. We had to capture a famous dragon," she explained to him. Harry gave her an odd look before asking, "Was Malfoy his usual self?" Hermione didn't know what to say because she didn't want to tell him that she hadn't minded spending time with Draco, but she also didn't want to lie.  
  
"It wasn't that bad. We didn't really talk," she decided to say, which was the truth. "Oh, no evil comments directed towards you?" he pushed on. "Well, it was probably because Hagrid was there," she replied, hoping the subject would veer away from Malfoy. "That's never stopped him before..." Harry said, sincerely not understanding Hermione's wish to drop the subject.  
  
"Well, I'm tired! I'd better go to bed!" she exclaimed loudly, though she wasn't tired at all. She quickly said goodnight to Harry, and then to a sleeping Ron (though he obviously couldn't hear her) and headed up to the girl's dormitories.  
  
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The next day after breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed to their first class: potions. Hermione only hoped that Snape was in a better mood than he had been the previous day, because she REALLY didn't need any more detentions... or want any more for that matter. When they entered the room, Hermione noticed that Malfoy was back in his usual seat up front. However, the seat next to him was yet to be filled. Usually Crabbe or Goyle sat next to him, but today, neither of them seemed to be present, which was odd because they usually traveled alongside Malfoy.  
  
"Bet Snape will move someone up again if the goons don't show up. I just hope it's not me," commented Ron, who had obviously noticed the same thing as Hermione. She shook her head. She hoped it wasn't her either because Snape didn't look very happy today either (well, more unhappy than usual that is). Hermione took a seat in the back next to Neville.  
  
"Ms. Granger! I would like you to move up here next to Mr. Malfoy, please. Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle have had an unfortunate accident and they will not be showing up," Snape said as soon as Hermione sat down. 'Why's he picking on me?!' she thought angrily before picking up her stuff and moving up next to Malfoy. "Hello Granger, come to join the party?" he said, sneering at her.  
  
'Great, Malfoy picks NOW to be his usual cocky self,' Hermione thought, while pretending not to notice him. "Is it nice to ignore people? I think not. Now come on, I told you that we're having a party. You must join in," Malfoy continued, apparently not even thinking about what he was saying. "Listen, Malfoy. I don't know why you were so, shall I dare to use the word "nice" the other night, but now's really not the time to start up again..." Hermione said, rather loudly.  
  
"Ms. GRANGER! Class has begun! You know that I punish those who displease me, as you experienced yesterday. Ten points from Gryffindor for talking, and detention! Tonight!" he exclaimed before putting up the directions for the days potion. "Dammit, Malfoy! Now I have detention because of you! Leave me alone," Hermione whispered to Malfoy, before copying down the directions. "Well, now I'll have some company... even though it's not very good company," he replied. Hermione ignored him.  
  
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"Aw man. You need to be more careful with Snape," Ron said, trying to console Hermione after class. "Ya. Two detentions in two days, that's pretty bad," agreed Harry. "What are you talking about Harry? You've had worse from Snape!" Hermione said, not at all consoled. "Well ya, but Snape hates me. He has no reason to hate you... I mean it IS you we're talking about Hermione," Harry replied. "Ya, well either he's found a reason to hate me or he's been in a really bad mood," grumbled Hermione, before heading off to her next class. 


	7. Chapter 7: No Longer Hate

A/N- Thanks to the people who reviewed my story! It's nice to know that people like it and, er, "think" they like it too... Keep on reviewing because it makes me feel better ^^ lol. And OOO I love cookies ;-).  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Hermione headed to the same classroom as the night before for detention. At dinner she had received a notice that told her to meet there at ten thirty. When she arrived, she was a bit early. She'd have to wait about twenty minutes before Filch would show up. And so, Hermione sat down in the same chair that she had before. Ten minutes later, Malfoy showed up looking quite smug.  
  
This time, he greeted Hermione. "Hello, Granger," he said, before taking a seat very near her. She figured that he was trying to start some sort of an argument, and so she didn't answer him. For some reason, Hermione seemed to imagine that Malfoy looked hurt when she didn't say anything, but it wasn't possible. The two waited in silence until Filch showed up.  
  
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Draco and Hermione were in greenhouse number 3 cleaning out the Foozlebear cages. They were currently alone, but every ten minutes or so, Filch would come in and check on them to make sure they were working. There were still over twenty cages to clean, and it was past midnight, but they weren't allowed to use magic. Hermione was getting somewhat tired of being silent, but she didn't really want to start a conversation with Malfoy.  
  
She glanced over at him to make sure that he was working, and was surprised when she saw him sitting still, eyes half-closed, almost asleep. Hermione looked around to make sure nobody had noticed before poking him in the arm. "Malfoy! Wake up we're going to get into trouble!" she said quietly. Draco jerked his head up from its sleeping position and looked at her drowsily. He then smiled a smile that gave Hermione goosebumps. She had never seen him look like that before. He looked happy, warm, and... well... kind.  
  
"Just another few minutes. I was having a dream about you," he joked, before picking up his rag and cleaning the cage that he had been working on. At least Hermione thought he was joking... although he had never really joked before.  
  
She still couldn't get the smile out of her head, and she was trying to convince herself that she hadn't thought of him as attractive at all. She tried to clear her mind and finish cleaning the cages.  
  
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Hermione was working her way back up to Gryffindor tower. Detention had ended, and Malfoy had already left her to go the opposite direction to Slytherin. It was getting pretty close to one o'clock, but Hermione wasn't very tired at all. She was still thinking about Malfoy. Why was he being so nice to her? It couldn't have been just because nobody else was around, because he had been mean to her when they were alone before... 'Actually,' Hermione pondered, 'we never really have been alone before...'  
  
She had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady without even noticing. "Password?" the Fat Lady asked. Hermione gave her the password and entered the common room. The room was pretty much empty, except for one table on which Ron and Harry were sleeping, apparently "waiting up" for her. She went over to awaken them. She shook them both and said, "Guys, thanks for waiting up but I'm here now. You can go to sleep..." They both looked up at her, grunted, and then went off to the boys' dormitories.  
  
Hermione went up to the girls' dormitories and changed for bed. She climbed under the covers, but could not fall asleep for about an hour. She was still thinking about Malfoy.  
  
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The next day in Potions, Hermione was not made to sit next to Malfoy because the goons, Crabbe and Goyle, were back. They looked like their normal selves, except that Goyle's nose was purple, and Crabbe's lips were green. Hermione didn't even bother to ask anyone about it. She opened up a roll of parchment, took out her quill, and prepared to take notes on the day's potion.  
  
After Snape gave them all of the directions and ingredients needed to make the elixir de porcorum, the class began working on it. It was a potion used to let one be able to eat as much as they wanted without feeling ill. Hermione didn't bother to ask when this potion would be useful, as Snape had forgotten to tell them. Her mind was elsewhere. That was when Malfoy walked up to her table. "Granger, I need some of your worm-weed. I've run out," he demanded. "Go get it from somebody closer to you. I don't see why you had to come ask me!" she said, rather loudly... it was loud enough to catch Snape's attention anyway. He gave her an inquiring look as to what the trouble might be.  
  
Hermione then realized that Malfoy was TRYING to get her landed in detention. She grabbed a bunch of worm-weed and stuffed it in his hand. "There you go," she said, before returning to her work. Malfoy didn't leave. He looked disappointed. "Granger, I also need some...uh... Flagwood." Hermione gave him some of that too. Malfoy seemed to be on the verge of becoming angry. "Hermione, I need to talk to you after class," he said, walking back to his desk.  
  
It was the first time he had ever called her Hermione.  
  
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A/N- Don't say anything regarding the Foozlebears.... not a word. *Yes I did make it up...*  
  
Did I make Hermione begin to think about Draco too soon? cuz it's hard to write a story with this pairing because of their mutual hate x.x. Tell me in reviews, lol! Thanks.  
  
P.S. sorry this chapter was so short! 


	8. Chapter 8: The Kiss

Chapter 8  
  
Hermione could not concentrate on the potion for the rest of the class. When she had finished, it wasn't at all the yellow color that it was supposed to be, but a putrid green. Nonetheless, she poured some into a flask and handed it in to the Professor at the end of class. She then turned her attention to Malfoy. He was standing in the doorway waiting for her to notice him. He beckoned her to follow him, and left the dungeon, heading upstairs.  
  
Without thinking twice, Hermione followed just as he wanted. They walked through the hallways until Malfoy suddenly stopped. Hermione stopped too and quickly glanced around. They were in the hallway that she knew so well to contain the prefects bathroom, seeing as she was a prefect herself. Malfoy was one as well, and Hermione figured that he realized that this hallway was one of the most deserted in the whole school.  
  
"Hermione..." he said, again using her first name. He looked down at the floor and continued, "I must tell you... for so long... I know it's wrong but... I love you." With the last words he looked up, directly into her eyes. Hermione was speechless. She didn't know what her own feelings were. She knew that she no longer hated Draco, but she still didn't know whether the thing that she felt was... love. She stared into his soft, gray eyes. She had never looked into his eyes before, and was surprised that they were not cold and stony.  
  
Suddenly, Hermione had a thought: 'This is a joke! Some elaborate plan... Well I won't fall for it!' Draco noticed that her expression was changing from thoughtful and confused, to angry. "I know what this is, Malfoy," she spit, "and if you think that for ONE SECOND I'm falling for it, then you're wrong." With that she stomped away to the Gryffindor tower. When she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, she realized how close to tears she was. She stopped to calm down before she entered the room.  
  
'What came over me back there? I thought... that I... loved Draco,' she thought to herself, very confused. Once she was a bit more calm, she told the Fat Lady the password and entered the common room. Nobody was in there because, obviously, they were in their next class. Hermione didn't quite feel like going to Charms, and so she sat down on a chair in front of the fireplace and thought for a minute: 'What if he wasn't joking? I could have really hurt him... but no. He's Malfoy, he would never even like me let alone love me.' Before she knew it, Hermione had fallen asleep with her thoughts.  
  
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Hermione awoke to Ron shaking her and talking to her, "Hermione! What are you doing up here? We haven't seen you since potions. Wow, Hermione ditching! You were ditching, weren't you? It's already dinner, and it's been the first chance we've gotten to come looking for you. You'd better come to dinner with us." Harry was nodding his head in agreement. "Ok ok, Ron, stop shaking me I'm awake!" she exclaimed, drowsily standing up from the chair.  
  
She looked around and saw that they were alone, and that the lights had been turned on, and the curtains drawn shut on the windows. She had slept quite awhile. Suddenly, she came to a conclusion about Malfoy. The sleep had done her a lot of good. "Let's go down to dinner," she told her friends, hoping that Malfoy would be there.  
  
When they reached the Great Hall, it was crowded and noisy. Apparently dinner had begun without them. "You guys go on ahead," Hermione told Ron and Harry, "I have to talk to someone." They nodded, though they both looked quite wary, and walked off the the Gryffindor table. Hermione then looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy talking to a bunch of other Slytherins. She tried to catch his eye, because she thought that if she went up to him in front of the other Slytherins, he would pretend nothing had happened earlier.  
  
It was awhile before Malfoy finally looked up and saw her. His expression turned serious. She nodded towards the entrance to the Great Hall, and began to walk to it. When she exited the Great Hall, she leaned against the wall that the doorway was situated in, hoping that Draco would get the hint and come out to talk to her. Hermione waited for a short time, and finally decided that Malfoy was not coming. She started towards the staircase leading to Gryffindor Tower, not wanting to be in the same room as him. At that moment, Draco came.  
  
He stood in front of her, blocking her path. "You wanted to talk?" he said. There was only one way to find out if it was a joke or not, and Hermione was willing to risk public humiliation. "I love you too," she said, staring directly into Draco's eyes. Then, without any warning at all, Draco Malfoy gently pushed Hermione up against a wall and kissed her.  
  
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A/N- Haha, thanks again to my reviewers! I really appreciate the support and advice. Sorry about the mix-up between which houses are in what classes together... like I said, I wasn't sure if they changed every year or what. But I'm just going to leave it as it is...  
  
Sorry if this sounds weird or like I wrote it in a hurry. I have to go to school tomorrow and I was too lazy to re-read it all through. Hope you like it anyway!  
  
P.S- there is something that sounds semi-dirty in this and I didn't MEAN for it to but I was too tired to worry about changing it. This note is meant mostly for certain people (like Meru, Luau, or Page'... if they end up reading this). If you didn't see anything "dirty", then don't worry about it. 


	9. Chapter 9: Forgiveness

A/N- Ugh, sorry it's taken so long for this new chapter. School has been taking up ALL of my time on weekdays, and then on weekends I've been pretty busy too. Plus my friend and I are making a movie for our school's student experimentals, which is taking a lot of work. Well, anyway, enjoy.  
  
K and also, I know this is a bit late but back in chapter 5 I said that Hagrid stupified the dragon with his wand.... Hagrid does not have a wand... let's just say that the Ministry allowed him use of one for this one occasion or something, k? K.  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Draco broke the kiss, which was much too short for his liking, but he needed to talk to Hermione. Hermione stepped back with her mouth slightly open, surprised at what had just occurred. She tried to speak, but no words came out. Out of all the things she had prepared herself for, this wasn't one of them. She thought that if Draco had liked her after all, he would have only just admitted it and.... well she wasn't sure where it would have gone from there. But a kiss...  
  
'Draco Malfoy just kissed me...' she thought to herself, becoming anxious, 'Ron and Harry won't like this very much.'  
  
She was afraid to look Draco in the eye, worried that she might find out that this was all a joke after all. Finally, she forced herself to bring her head up and look at him. He was staring at her, looking quite surprised at himself even.  
  
After a bit of a struggle, Draco began to speak. "Hermione, I... I don't know how to say this, but I've honestly liked you since, well, I dunno about second year? I've been horrible to you, I don't know how you could forgive me, but every time I tried to tell you how I felt, cruel words came out instead. Mainly I was frightened, but I'm sure it had to do with the way I've been brought up as well. My father never tires of complaining about Muggle-borns. Hermione, I..."  
  
Hermione didn't know what to say, but since Draco was on the verge of tears, she put her finger to his lips to silence him. "I had no idea... all of those times you called me names and... well it really hurt. You're right, I'm not sure if I can forgive you. I think I want to but." Hermione then felt the tears coming to her own eyes.  
  
At that moment, they heard footsteps coming down the hall. They stepped away from each other and pretended to each be doing their own thing while the two late-comers to dinner passed by, glaring at them quizzically. When they had entered the Great Hall, Draco turned back to Hermione. "Come, we must go somewhere else to talk," he said, pointing at a random staircase and then walking towards it.  
  
Hermione followed, and soon they were in a hallway that eventually led to the charms classroom. They followed the hall for a bit, until Draco suddenly stopped. "Here's a good place to talk," Draco said, "Nobody should be walking by as they're all in dinner." Hermione nodded and gazed into his soft gray eyes.  
  
'I've never looked into his eyes before,' Hermione thought, 'They're so much... calmer than I thought they'd be.'  
  
"Hermione..." Draco said rather suddenly, startling her, "I really hope you can try to forgive me. Trust me, I know I've been horrible to you since... well forever. It's just so hard for me to change, it's how I've always been. It's because of my goddamn father, I know it is. Just... just know that I never meant all of those mean things that I said." With this, a tear dripped down Draco's face.  
  
Hermione smiled slightly. "I... I will try. I know I want to try. It's just... I need a bit of time to think this over. Can we talk again tomorrow?" she said, voice quavering at the last part. "Take as much time as you need. I've waited so long to tell you how I feel, I can wait to know how you feel too." With this, he kissed her forehead and walked away, most likely towards the Slytherin common room. He seemed to have a bit more of a skip in his step, Hermione noticed. Hermione, with Draco having disappeared around a corner, then headed towards Gryffindor common room to think.  
  
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A/N: Ya, it's a bit short, but this is the first time I've really gotten any chance to write since summer. I actually was worried I wasn't even going to finish this story after all. Anyway, I will do my best, and hopefully the story will be finished eventually x.x. Thanks for the advice in the reviews! Review some more, it'll probably encourage me to FIND time to write. 


	10. Chapter 10: The Decision

Chapter 10  
  
Hermione was alone on her way to the Great Hall the morning after the Draco incident. The night before she had hardly gotten any sleep thinking about him. She still didn't know what was going on. Having an actual relationship with Draco seemed too weird to her. She had only barely stopped hating him, and she wasn't sure if she had meant it when she that she LOVED him. Like, yes, but love was a whole different concept.  
  
The thing was, Hermione KNEW that she had some sort of feelings for Draco, she had even admitted it to him. She was just finding it hard admitting it to herself because of all of the trouble it would cause in her life. For one thing, how would Harry and Ron react? Not very well was her guess, and she treasured their friendship very much. Secondly, what about Draco's father? She didn't particularly want to anger him...  
  
After entering the Great Hall and reaching the Gryffindor table, Hermione greeted Ron and Harry with a much too cheerful smile.  
  
"Er, Hermione, why so happy? Did you get your charms test back early or something?" Ron asked sarcastically, sliding over to make room for her at the table.  
  
"No, I'm not especially happy," she replied, realizing that she had put on too much of an act of contentedness. She sat down and began to fill her plate with breakfast items. Harry, sitting on the other side of the table, was staring at her. Harry could almost always see through her, but she hoped he wouldn't ask any questions just now.  
  
'Well,' she thought to herself, 'obviously I won't be able to think about Draco right now. I hope he doesn't want to talk yet...'  
  
She glanced over at the Slytherin table and caught sight of him sitting at the far end. He was talking to another Slytherin boy who was neither Crabbe nor Goyle. He didn't seem to notice her, so she turned back to her food and began to eat.  
  
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When they entered Herbology, Harry made an obvious effort to stand next to Hermione. 'Great,' Hermione thought, 'Here come the questions.'  
  
Just as she had expected, Harry leaned close to her and whispered, "Hermione, what's up?" Hermione sighed and put on a confused look, pretending not to know what he was talking about. Harry continued to look at her, though, and merely said, "Fine, but we're going to talk later."  
  
Hermione nodded, knowing that she wouldn't be able to trick him into thinking she was all right, but she worried about what she would say to him when he began to ask questions. Obviously she couldn't tell him about Draco, at least not yet. Not until she had figured everything out. With that, she again began to think about Draco.  
  
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Hermione was on her way to Arithmancy alone after lunch when she was suddenly yanked around a corner by someone's hand. The someone turned out to be Draco. During the whole morning Hermione had been thinking, and luckily she had finally come to a conclusion. Draco looked at her expectedly and quietly said, "Well, I don't mean to rush you. I was just wondering if you'd..." "Thought about it any more?" Hermione cut him off.  
  
He nodded and stared silently at her. Hermione hoped she was ready to tell him her answer. She didn't feel as if she'd thought it through enough. But for once, she felt that she should just follow her instinct which was...  
  
"Draco, obviously I have feelings for you as I've already admitted, and I think I could forgive you. It might be a difficult situation, but I'm willing to go through it."  
  
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A/N: Er, ya. I don't know if that flowed very well. Actually I don't know if the last three chapter flowed very well. Sorry if they didn't x.x but there have been long gaps in between the time I'm writing each of them. O Boy, I have finals this week so I won't be updating most likely. Thanks to my reviewers!!! You guys make me want to keep writing this story, lol. ^^ 


	11. Chapter 11: Midnight Outing

A/N: LOOK! I'm UPDATING! Ok, jeez, that took awhile. I wonder if anyone is still going to read this story because it took so long to update 0_-. Well, thanks to those of you who read on! Er, sorry if this chapter seems... out of the flow of the others or something. It's because it's been a bit since the last chapter.  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Hermione was hurrying to Arithmancy after a short snogging session with Draco. She knew that she was at least ten minutes late, and hoped the teacher wouldn't be too angry. She reached the door to the classroom and slowly entered.  
  
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It was dinner time in the Great Hall, and Hermione sat with Ron and Harry at the Gryffindor table. Harry kept giving her meaningful glances, which she was trying her best to ignore. Ron, on the other hand, seemed to notice nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
"Hey, Hermione, could I copy your astrology chart tonight? I've got LOADS of other work to do and it would really help..." he said, looking hopefully at her. Hermione just sighed and shook her head, "Ron, how will you LEARN anything if I do all of your work for you?" Ron grumbled and went back to his shepherd's pie.  
  
Hermione chanced a glance over at the Slytherin table. Draco was sitting calmly eating pudding, not talking to anyone, but looking very thoughtful. She smiled, thinking about earlier that day. She had never even considered that Draco could be so kind and gentle... the way that he had acted since he confessed his feelings was completely out of character. She turned back to her dinner, thinking about how wonderful Draco now seemed.  
  
Suddenly a wave of panic shot through her as she thought about Draco. 'I'd forgotten about the consequences...' she realized, 'I'll eventually have to tell Ron and Harry. And Draco's father... I don't even know what's going to happen with him.' As suddenly as the panic came, it left. 'We're in this together, and as long as we love each other, nothing else matters,' she defiantly told herself.  
  
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The trio had already gone back to the Gryffindor common room and were sitting around the usual table doing homework. Ron kept yawning, and after finally falling asleep over his History of Magic essay and being poked awake by Harry, he went up to bed. This left Harry and Hermione alone for the first time since Harry had said he wanted to talk to her.  
  
"So... Hermione. You've seemed... it seems like something's been bothering you?" Harry began, looking down at his Potions homework, apparently trying to sound non-chalant.  
  
"What makes you think that, Harry?" Hermione replied, trying to conjure up an excuse so that she wouldn't have to tell him about Draco... yet.  
  
"Come on, Hermione. You know I can see right through your facade."  
Hermione sighed at him, and then slowly said, "I've just had... something on my mind. Nothing for you to worry about."  
  
Harry looked discontent, but didn't say anything more about it for the next fifteen minutes, during which he finished his essay. After packing up his stuff, he too went up to bed, leaving Hermione practically alone in the common room.  
  
'I really wish I could see Draco right now,' she thought, as the last few stragglers went up to their dormitories. She looked at her watch and saw that it was past midnight. Defiantly looking around the common room, she quickly stuffed her belongings into her bag and headed towards the exit. As she left, she realized that she had no idea where the Slytherin common room was.  
  
'Well, that's awfully stupid of me,' she concluded, turning around to find the picture of the Fat Lady closed and void of an inhabitant.  
  
'Where has the Fat Lady gone?' Hermione thought in a panic, 'She's never been gone when Harry, Ron, and I have come back late before!' She looked around and saw that there was nobody in sight.  
  
Without any way of returning to her dormitory, Hermione decided to go wake a teacher and tell them that she had gone to the toilet and when she came back, the Fat Lady was gone. However, halfway down the second staircase, she ran into somebody who was neither a teacher nor Filch.  
  
It was Draco Malfoy.  
  
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A/N: O boy! LOL, ok I thought the ending was kind of cheesy, but o well. Maybe not... tell me whatcha think. Just remember that I wrote this at one in the morning on a saturday night after having gotten no sleep during the week (stupid school hours -_-). Ah, anyway, not sure when I'll be updating next, but I really do plan on finishing this story! At least, I know where I'd go with the next chapter, which is a first. Well, thanks for reading, and please review ^^. 


	12. Chapter 12: The Discussion

Chapter 12  
  
Hermione was horribly startled, and she almost fell down the stairs after jumping a few feet into the air. It was very dark, and Hermione had not realized at first that it was Draco standing at the bottom of the staircase.  
  
"Hermione, is that you?" Draco called, fear sounding in his voice as well.  
"Ya, it's Hermione. Draco? You gave me quite a start."  
"Ha! What are you doing out of bed? It's way past lights out."  
  
"Well, actually..." at this point Hermione paused. She wasn't sure she should tell him that she had come out to see him... especially since she had only confessed her feelings to him a few hours earlier.  
  
She sighed in decision, and then quickly said, "Actually I was hoping to see you, but then I realized that I didn't know where the Slytherin dormitories were... which was rather stupid of me and all... but then I got lock-"  
"I was coming to see you too," Draco cut her off, smiling.  
  
Hermione couldn't help but smile back. She went down the rest of the stairs and walked to where Draco was standing, a couple of feet away from the bottom step. She then placed her arms around his shoulders and stood on her toes to kiss him.  
  
They broke away from each other smiling giddily. "Come on Hermione, I don't think I could sleep. Let's find somewhere to talk," Draco said, still very happy from the kiss.  
  
Hand in hand, the two walked through the halls, trying to find a place that was unlikely for Filch to come upon. "Here's an unused classroom, I doubt Filch will bother coming in here unless we make a lot of noise or something. Then he'll think it was Peeves," Hermione said, pulling Draco into the empty room behind her.  
  
Hermione shut the door and then turned around to face Draco. For some reason he was blushing.  
  
"What's the matter?" Hermione tried to remember if she'd said anything embarrassing.  
  
"Oh, well. It's nothing... you know. So how was your day?" Draco began, trying to change the subject.  
  
Just then Hermione realized that the comment she had made about making a lot of noise was kind of embarrassing. She began to blush as well. "Draco, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant.. you know.. talking loudly or something," she stammered.  
  
Draco seemed to blush even more, "Oh, well ya. I figured... I just... ya Filch and those ears of his. You know..."  
  
Hermione smiled weakly and searched around in her mind for a change of topic. "Oh, so Draco, I've been meaning to ask you. I know it's kind of off topic, but what exactly DID you do the other day in the Great Hall that got you so many detentions?" Draco broke into a large smile. "Oh that? Nothing important. It was stupid, they were TOTALLY overreacting. Nothing to get worked up about at all really."  
  
"Well what's THAT supposed to mean?" Hermione questioned on.  
"Ha, well if you really want to know, I brought the squid from the lake into the Great Hall before breakfast. Crabbe, Goyle, another Slytherin boy and I enchanted it to fly through the front doors... like I said, stupid really. We were just ready for a bit of fun. Of course I was the only one who was caught, none of the others would confess after the teachers told me they knew I was in on it. I wasn't too happy with them for awhile after that," Draco again smiled sheepishly.  
  
Hermione quickly giggled and then sat down on a puffy couch positioned against the far wall. "This must have been one of those classrooms like Professor Trelawny's. How it's supposed to be all comfortable and all," Hermione said, curious as to why there might be a couch in the room and, as usual, analyzing the situation.  
  
Draco sat down and put his arm around her. She looked up at him expecting to see a happy, joking face, but instead he looked grave. "Hermione, so, is this serious? Are we... going to be serious?" he asked, very slowly.  
  
Hermione was surprised for a moment. She didn't know what he meant by that; serious as in forever lasting? If that was the case, she had no idea. But was she serious about loving him? 'Yes, I've already decided that,' she told herself, before answering, "I'm serious about it."  
  
Draco again looked joyful and replied, "I'm serious about it too, but then..." Sadness came over his face. "But then, we'll have to tell Weasel and Po... er... we'll have to tell your friends and.. my father eventually," he said with a slight shudder.  
  
Hermione nodded, and replied, "Yes, we will have to tell Harry and Ron. Soon, though, let's tell them soon. We'll tell Ginny too, she'd like to know. What about your father? Is sooner better?"  
  
Draco contemplated for a moment, sighed, and then said, "No, Hermione. Sooner is not better. Nor is later. He will not be pleased to say the least no matter when we tell him. Let's just wait; at least if he knows we've been together for awhile and we're serious, he might not... be quite as angry."  
  
Hermione put her hand on Draco's cheek. She turned his head so that he was facing her. She was more than surprised to see that the beginning of tears were actually glistening in Draco's eyes. She pulled his head close to her and gently kissed him.  
  
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A/N: K, just so you know about the Draco prank thing- I kinda had actually forgotten about that until last chapter... then i was like "o i should tell them more about that"... so the prank is kind of... oh. But again, like the famous dragon thing, it's the first thing I thought of so be kind ^^. 


	13. Chapter 13: The Question

A/N: I just wanted to say THANKS SO MUCH!!! to those of you who've reviewed my story. It helps me know how I'm doing, and it makes me feel loved ^_^. And a special thanks to those who've been reviewing since I posted chapter one... that makes me feel especially loved x.x. And now, on with the story!!! *marches off into the sunlight*  
  
Chapter 13  
  
The next day, Hermione and Draco were again in a forbidden classroom. They were now officially "going out". Hermione had decided that she was serious, and now she and Draco only had the obstacle of society.  
  
"Draco, what about after you graduate? You aren't REALLY going to become a Death Eater, are you?" Hermione asked, believing that she already knew the answer to that.  
  
"Of course I am, Hermione, my father would never allow things otherwise," he replied nonchalantly, as if he didn't care either way.  
  
"But Draco, I thought you didn't like your father?" she questioned, very surprised at his answer.  
  
Draco jumped up off of the couch that they were seated upon, and turned to face her. "Hermione, I love my father. How dare you say such things. I love Voldemort. I love Slytherin. You, are just a filthy little Mudblood!"***  
  
Hermione then awoke with a jolt from her uneasy sleep. She had dreamed all of this. However, these things were her real fears. Draco had never said anything about being good despite what everyone else thought, only that he loved her. 'Right now he could very well be out visiting Voldemort...' she thought, shuddering. She would have to confront him about it tomorrow...  
  
The only thing that comforted her was to know that Draco at least disagreed with his father about muggle-borns, even if not openly. 'Well, maybe he disagrees with him on other things to; like whether or not to worship Voldemort for example...' Hermione thought, trying to comfort herself into sleep.  
  
When she finally fell asleep, the dreams began again.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Hermione confronted Draco the next day, which was a Saturday. While entering the Great Hall alone (Harry and Ron were still asleep and she left them hoping that she might run into Draco), she saw him just getting up from the Slytherin table. He caught sight of her and smiled, before looking around to make sure nobody was watching. He then looked back at her and nodded towards the door.  
  
She took the hint and left from the door that she had just entered. Draco came out seconds later and they walked up a few flights of stairs trying to make it look as if they weren't together.  
  
They found an empty classroom in a secluded hallway and entered. There were only a few very uncomfortable chairs in this room, but it didn't matter, Hermione just wanted to ask him something.  
  
However, she found that very difficult because other things seemed to be on Draco's mind. As soon as she had shut the door, he came up behind her and hugged her around the middle. She turned around to face him, and they shared a long, deep kiss.  
  
As soon as it had finished, Hermione almost forgot what she had wanted to talk to him about.  
  
"Hey, Hermione," he spoke first, although they had been in each other's presence for the past five minutes. "Hi, Draco," she replied, smiling at him. But there were things they needed to talk about...  
  
"Draco, something's been on my mind. I don't know if it's too early to ask you questions like this, or if it's too personal. But... I just need to know. Do you support Voldemort?"  
  
At this, Draco's face turned cold and stony. He looked as if he was having an inner-struggle. "Hermione, let me explain something to you. My entire life my father has been telling me that I was to grow up to help Lord Voldemort, once he got back his power. Ever since I was a young child I've been hearing about how wonderful Voldemort was and how there is no good or evil, only power."  
  
He saw that Hermione's face was falling. But he was not finished...  
  
"No, Hermione, listen. I'm not done. That's what I've been hearing my whole life. My mother, well, she doesn't really care who's the most powerful in the world. She's not exactly been a source of great comfort, but she loves me. That's more than my father can say. She's always told me, 'Draco, I don't care what you grow up to be. I will love you no matter who you are.'  
  
Ever since I was a young child, I've contemplated those words. Do I want to support Voldemort? Do I want to grow up to be exactly like my goddamn father, the one with no love to spare except for himself? I knew I didn't want that, but it wasn't until I entered Hogwarts that I realized that my fate could not be anything at all like what my father wanted. No, it's true, I do not like Dumbledore, but not because he opposes Voldemort. To me, power is the worst thing in the world. If Dumbledore is powerful, then I want nothing to do with him.  
  
So no, Hermione, I do not support Lord Voldemort. But if you want to know the whole truth, I do not support Dumbledore either."  
  
Hermione was confused. She couldn't understand how a person could not be on either side of a battle over the entire wizarding world and beyond. But she knew, or at least hoped she did, that Draco was not evil, and that he had no bad intentions towards her. She knew that hated his father, and that he would not be involved in helping Voldemort. This was enough for her.  
  
***********************************************  
  
Hermione and Draco were walking out of the room holding hands. Hermione had comforted Draco for awhile, before deciding that she should go down and get breakfast while Draco had Quidditch practice. They started down the hallway.  
  
What they didn't know was that at the opposite end of the hall, watching their retreating backs, stood Harry Potter.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ ____________  
  
A/N: Hmm.. I'm not really sure about my sense of time here. Like, when it was Saturday in this chapter, I don't know if it made sense time-wise with the rest of my story. Like, so far this story has taken place over a couple of weeks... er, I kinda forgot to mention that. *Forgets to have a sense of time*. Well, anyway, just pretend that it can be Saturday ^^.  
  
Thanks for reading, and please review now so that I will be very happy ^__^. 


	14. Chapter 14: Despair

Chapter 14  
  
Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast, just after having said goodbye to Draco. 'It will be very difficult keeping this a secret for long, so I know we'll have to tell at least Harry, Ron, and Ginny soon. Hopefully the whole school doesn't find out.....' Hermione was thinking to herself, a smile still lingering on her face from Draco's last kiss.  
  
At that moment, Harry plopped himself down next to her at the table. "Hi," she said, but he did not reply. Instead, he glowered at her.  
  
"Harry, what's the matter?" Hermione said, startled at the sullen look on his face.  
"I just saw the most interesting thing," Harry began, not blinking at all. Hermione's heart skipped a beat. "Do you know what I saw, Hermione? Let me give you a hint; it has to do with Draco Malfoy."  
  
Hermione dropped her spoon into her porridge. "Harry, I was going to tell you but I was..." she began, but was interrupted by Harry speaking through clenched teeth, "You were going to tell me, Hermione? Well, how nice. That would have made the situation SO much better. 'Hey, Harry, guess what? I'm going out with your arch-enemy, you know... the one who teases you relentlessly, who makes fun of your parents' death and of your best friends, who's in league with Voldemort, and who calls me a Mudblood.' Hermione, he's always been so horrible to you! I don't..."  
  
At that exact moment, however, Ron walked up to the table and sat across from them. Harry stopped talking immediately, at least aware that it probably wouldn't be the best idea to tell Ron yet.  
  
"Hey guys, why such long faces?" Ron asked cheerfully, grabbing several crumpets and sausages. He began eating, apparently unaware of what had just occurred. Harry gave Hermione one final glare before filling his plate with food and picking at it in an effort to eat.  
  
Hermione suddenly didn't feel so hungry. "I'm going to go finish my homework, I'll see you guys later," she quickly mumbled, before getting up and heading back to her dormitory. Harry and Ron both looked as if they were about to speak, but Hermione was too fast, and was out the door in mere seconds. When she finally reached her room, she flung herself on the bed and began to cry.  
  
'I thought he would at least listen to me! I want to tell him how wonderful Draco is, how unlike his reputation he really is. I doubt Harry will listen... I doubt Ron will listen either. My last hope is Ginny. But I don't want to give up any of my friends! I need them to accept this,' Hermione continued to silently cry for several more minutes before wiping her eyes dry and returning to the common room to look for Ginny.  
  
Luckily, Ginny was sitting over in the corner, reading a book titled "Curses for the Wicked Sibling". Hermione approached her cautiously and said, "Ginny, can I talk to you in private for a moment please?" Ginny looked around at a couple other fifth years sitting at the table before getting up and following Hermione back to her dormitory.  
  
********************************************  
  
"Are you serious, Hermione? I thought you hated him!? Isn't he the one who called you a... you know," Ginny gasped at Hermione, though obviously trying to conceal a smile.  
  
'At least she doesn't seem angry, only surprised,' Hermione thought, smiling in relief.  
  
"Draco is a totally different person once you get to know him. Thanks for being understanding, Ginny. Harry totally flipped out when he saw us..."  
  
"He saw you!? You hadn't even gotten a chance to tell him yet?"  
"Nope, I haven't even gotten a chance to properly talk to him about it yet."  
  
Ginny shook her head helplessly, "Well, Hermione, just know that I'm here for you if you ever need anything. I'd give Harry a little while to cool down... unless the extra time would just be more time for him to brood. Actually, forget I tried to give you advice about when to talk to him. Whenever you see him would probably be the best option."  
  
Hermione gaped at Ginny. 'Thanks for calming me down, Ginny,' she thought angrily, before realizing that Ginny was the only one on her side now. Well, there was still Ron, but as soon as he found out...  
  
Hermione gave Ginny a hug and then headed down to the common room with her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to finish her homework, so instead she decided to go to the Quidditch pitch to watch Draco practice.  
  
"If anyone sees me, I'll just say I'm going to visit Hagrid," she told herself defiantly.  
  
As she was leaving the portrait hole, however, the one person that she did not want to see at that moment was entering. They caught each other's eyes and both froze, neither daring to move.  
  
"Harry, I want to talk to you. Let's go for a walk," Hermione said as calmly as possible.  
  
_________________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: Hmm, I've written a lot this week! Well, a lot by my standards x.x. Hope you all like it so far. Please tell me in a review ^^. Cuz, you know, I love reviews and all... :) 


	15. Chapter 15: Acceptance

Chapter 15  
  
Half an hour later, Hermione and Harry were strolling across the grounds deep in conversation. Hermione was still trying to convey her feelings for Draco, but felt it very hard to put them into words. Harry wasn't giving in very easily...  
  
"Hermione, I still don't think you understand. The guy's father is a Death Eater! What does that say about him? He has cursed muggle borns ever since we met him, he hates me, he has called you countless names... I don't see how you can like a guy like that!"  
  
"He's not like that at all, Harry! That's what I'm trying to tell you. It's an act. What's he supposed to do? His father, like you said, is a Death Eater. I don't think it would go too well if Draco was best friends with a muggle born..."  
  
"Oh, what, you mean like YOU maybe?" "It's different now Harry."  
  
"How?" "He couldn't hide his feelings any more."  
  
Harry shook his head in disbelief. He gazed out towards the lake, which they were currently walking past.  
  
"You know what, Hermione? Do whatever you want. I just don't think we can be friends any more."  
  
Tears began to well up in Hermione's eyes.  
  
"What are you saying? We've been friends for six years. I don't want to lose your friendship."  
  
Harry sighed, turned to face Hermione and replied, "Well, how do you think I feel? I don't want to lose our friendship either. But Hermione, Draco has also been my enemy for six years."  
  
The tears started to trickle down Hermione's cheek. "You know what Harry, I thought you would be understanding. Ron I knew would be like this, but you always understand everything. Why, when I'm trying to get you to understand one of the most important things in the world, you don't want to understand."  
  
With this, she stormed off towards the castle. *************************************************************  
  
Hermione was up in her dormitory pouting. She was sprawled out across her bed, thinking about Harry's reaction to her confession. That wasn't exactly the reaction she had been hoping for, but she still had some hope for his approval.  
'I might as well get it over and done with and tell Ron...' Hermione thought with a shudder. She knew that however bad Harry reacted, Ron would react a hundred times worse.  
  
Hermione got up and slowly started towards the door. She reached her hand towards the handle, when suddenly Ginny burst in. She seemed to be out of breath.  
  
"Don't.......go....down......there," she said, wheezing.  
"Why not?" asked Hermione, genuinly surprised at the outburst.  
  
"Harry...just...told...Ron...having...fit...barely...keeping...Ron...quiet enough...so..that..whole..room...doesn't...hear," Ginny replied, shaking her head in disgust.  
  
"If that's the case, maybe it'd be better for me to go down. I don't want to make a big scene, but it was going to get out eventually anyway..." Hermione said, very determined.  
  
"No, Hermione, trust me. That's not the best decision to make right now. At LEAST wait until the common room has cleared!" Ginny, who had finally caught her breath, insisted, pushing Hermione further back into the room.  
  
The two of them waited for a couple of hours, talking about Draco, until they were sure that the common room was empty.  
  
"Are you sure they'll still be there?" Hermione asked Ginny, very nervous at this point.  
  
"Oh, they'll be there alright," Ginny assured her, opening the door and walking down the stairs. Hermione followed her down.  
  
Harry and Ron were sitting in chairs in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames very thoughtfully. They jerked their heads in Hermione's direction when they heard her come in.  
  
There was a long akward silence before Harry said, "Hermione, Ron and I have been talking and.." Hermione took a deep breath. She feared what he was going to say next. "...and, well... we want you to tell us what happened, what made you trust Draco. We're not saying that we'll stop hating Draco, because we've come to the conclusion that we cannot. But we will do our best to support you."  
  
Although Harry looked very pained in saying this, Hermione was relieved nontheless. Ron still hadn't said anything, and didn't look like he was about to.  
  
"You too, right Ron?" she asked, wanting his approval as well.  
"Ya, me too," he sighed.  
  
___________________________________________________________________ A/N: Whoo hoo! New chapter! Ooo, Disneyland on Saturday, which I'm exicted about.  
  
Yes, and I do know that JK Rowling said in that interview that there was no way that Draco and Hermione would get together in the books. Well duh -_-. I'm sorry, but I didn't actually believe or hope it would happen. Ron and Hermione belong together in the books! I just think Draco and Hermione is a really cute idea: like Romeo and Juliet but not.  
  
I was just really upsettened by some comments after I read the interview on this one site that were like, "Good, now those Draco/ Hermione shippers will stop writing their stupid romance stories. It's finally been confirmed by JK herself!" Obviously it wasn't going to happen (no offense to those of you out there who hoped so :( ) but I, personally, will not stop. So.... there....  
  
*really needs to go do her homework instead of writing comments like that*  
  
______________________________________________________ P.S. A/N- wrote this comment last week, before I finished the chapter and posted it up. Dis was FUN! Not that you care when I wrote the comment, I just felt disorganized. 


	16. Chapter 16: At Last

Chapter 16  
  
The next morning at breakfast, Harry and Ron were rather quiet. After a quick glance at the two of them, Hermione sighed and gazed across to the Slytherin table. Draco was talking animatedly to a boy who's name she didn't know. At that moment, Draco looked up and they caught each other's eyes. She smiled, and he smiled back, before turning back to his conversation.  
  
Hermione set her attention back to her food. She wasn't particularly hungry after last night's events, but there was nothing better to do so she ate it.  
  
The night before she had talked to the boys for at least an hour. Ginny had stood by listening and nodding. Hermione wasn't sure if she'd made progress, but at least Harry and Ron seemed to be acceptant of her story.  
  
The first class they had was potions, and Hermione was hoping to get a chance to talk to Draco. She felt like she hadn't seen him in ages. As she stirred her porridge around, she wondered how long it would take for the entire student body to find out about them.***  
  
Potions class seemed to drag on forever. They were working on a very complex potion that was supposed to make the drinker full of energy for an hour. She kept glancing up at Draco, who was sitting in the front of the room as usual. Harry and Ron threw each other obvious glances occasionally. In fact, it seemed to happen every time Hermione began thinking about Draco. How nice he looked, even from the back...  
  
Class ended, and Hermione hoped Draco would drop back so that they could speak. She very slowly packed her stuff, waving Ron and Harry ahead, and soon, Draco and Hermione were the only ones in the room besides Snape. Hermione caught Draco's eye, and went outside of the classroom to wait. He came out smiling and immediately pushed her against the wall to kiss her.  
  
"I've missed you," he said, "where have you been?" "Well, Harry and Ron know... about us," she replied turning serious. "I've been trying to convince them not to hate me." She sighed. Draco looked empathetic and kissed her again. "How are they treating you? You know, if they're not treating you well, it wouldn't hurt if I just cursed them behind their backs. They would never know it was me." Hermione glared at him and replied, "They're still my friends, you know. Besides they're taking it....erm... they're okay I guess." She shrugged as they walked down the deserted hallway together.  
  
Class must have already started, but Hermione didn't care if she was a bit late. She missed Draco.  
  
"Hey, let's get together tonight," Draco said casually, "I feel like I haven't seen you in a really long time."  
  
Hermione smiled at him, "I know, same here."  
  
*****************************************************  
  
That night, before her meeting with Draco, Hermione saw a notice for a Hogsmeade weekend in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
'Hogsmeade!' she thought. 'I wish Draco and I could go together.. but if Draco's father found out...'  
  
No matter what happened, it seemed as if there was always a new obstacle in the way of their relationship.  
  
Hermione glanced around the common room. Harry and Ron were sitting at a table near the fire. She walked over and sat with them.  
  
"You two going to Hogsmeade?"  
  
"Nope, we have Quidditch practice," mumbled Ron. "We have a game the next day against Ravenclaw," murmured Harry.  
  
Hermione sighed. They were still going to act all dull around her, were they?  
  
She glanced at the clock. It was ten till eight, which was the time that she was meeting Draco.  
  
"Well, see you later, then," she said to them before standing up and leaving through the portrait hole.  
  
They watched her leave, and then looked at each other exasperatingly.  
  
"Where do you reckon she's off to?" asked Harry. "I don't think I want to know," replied Ron, shaking his head. ***  
  
Draco was waiting for Hermione in the Prefects bathroom, their pre-destined meeting place. They were both Prefects, and seeing as they could lock the door if they so desired, they weren't really worried about people coming in and seeing them together.  
  
Hermione reached the hallway containing the bathroom.  
  
'This is where Draco told me he loved me,' she thought fondly. It seemed like it had been so long ago.  
  
When she opened the door, she saw that Draco was submerged in great mounds of bubbles in the huge swimming pool sized tub. She gasped.  
  
"Hey, Hermione," he said, pulling his hand out of the water and waving.  
  
She stared at him wide-eyed.  
  
"Erm, ya naked under there, Draco, dear?" she said, half-jokingly.  
  
He laughed, "Why, do you want me to be?"  
  
"Maybe," she smiled.  
  
"Hehe, well I'm not, so too bad for you, but come on in, it's great," he said, patting the water next to him.  
  
She laughed and went into one of the curtained changing stalls to change into her bathing suit.  
  
When she came out, she began to walk over to the edge of the tub until she realized that Draco was staring at her intently.  
  
She blushed.  
  
"Sorry," he said quickly, "Can I help it if you're hott when you're half naked?" He laughed.  
  
She smiled nervously, climbed into the bathtub, and swam over to Draco.  
  
She sat next to him on the ledge thing that was underwater, and he put his arm around her. Next thing she knew, they were kissing.  
  
Minutes later, after the kissing had subsided, Hermione asked Draco the question which had been in her mind since she saw the Hogsmeade notice.  
  
"Draco, what would happen if we went to Hogsmeade together?"  
  
Draco fell silent for a minute. "Let's go," he said, turning to look at her very seriously.  
  
She was surprised, "But isn't that a bit rash? I mean, the entire school would find out."  
  
"So?" "Well, not only that, but... well, what about your father?" "Screw my father."  
  
"But isn't he.. well... can't he be dangerous?" "My mother will deal with him if I tell her how important you are to me..."  
  
Hermione was nervous, but excited all the same. "Okay, Draco. Let's go together," she said.  
  
"Finally, no more hiding," he said in reply. ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________ A/N: Erm, k so the bathing suit was kind of cheesy...but I didn't want to make them, uh, DO anything (yet) so... o.o  
  
Wow, it's really hard to end a story. This is my longest yet and I've actually kept working on it. For,like, eight months, I think. Okay, I don't update OFTEN, but I've actually kept it up! K, I think next chapter will be the last... I say that now, but it's really hard to do. For the past eight months I could be like, "hmm maybe I'll go work on my H/D story." Weird... 


	17. Chapter 17: And finally

Chapter 17  
  
Hermione was in her dormitory brushing her hair in front of a wall mirror. Her heart was racing very quickly. She was nervous.  
  
It had seemed an easy thing to do at the time that they decided to go to Hogsmeade as a couple. But now that the day had approached, Hermione was becoming increasingly more aware of what she was about to do.  
  
It wasn't so much a fear of resentment from the school community. She was already, although on the whole admired, slightly resented by them for being so smart and pretty. It was more that she realized that by taking this step with Draco, it meant how serious she was about him.  
  
They were putting their lives in danger, or so it seemed by the way Draco had previously talked about his father. What if it didn't work out between them? At the rate it was going, it didn't seem like that would be the case, but what if something happened? How would Hermione face the resentment without Draco by her side? How would she face the threat of death?  
  
She took a deep breath and steadied her hand, which was shaking slightly. 'Draco and I are meant to be together,' she thought to herself, 'I can feel it.'  
  
Just then, Parvati Patil entered the dormitory and smiled at Hermione.  
  
"Oh, does someone have a date for Hogsmeade? Only, it seems as if you're taking more time with your appearance than usual..." she giggled and winked as Hermione blushed.  
  
"Maybe I'll see you there. I'm going with a Ravenclaw boy... Oh dear, what was his name again?" she shrugged, grabbed her purse, and said goodbye to Hermione before leaving as quickly as she had come.  
  
Hermione took another deep breath. She could only imagine the look on Parvati's face when she saw who Hermione's date was.  
  
She put down the brush, and checked the mirror one last time. Today would have to be perfect.  
  
She grabbed her purse and headed down to the common room. Immediately she was greeted by several glances from boys scattered around the room. She caught sight of Ron and Harry sitting over by the fire, playing chess. Harry saw her and beckoned her over.  
  
"Going to, er, Hogsmeade today?" he asked in a would-be casual voice.  
"Yes, in fact, I am," she replied just as mock-casually.  
"With Malfoy?" inserted Ron.  
  
Hermione paused for only a second before replying, "Yes, with Draco."  
  
The boys looked up at her curiously for a moment, Ron shooting her a semi- dirty look, before Harry said, "Have fun" and attempted a smile.  
  
Hermione hugged them both. Before they could recover from shock she said, "I know you're both trying, and I just want to thank you," and left through the portrait hole.  
  
She made her way down to the entrance hall. She and Draco were planning on getting breakfast at Hogsmeade, so she passed the Great Hall without a glance. Draco was waiting for her on the front steps.  
  
When she reached him, he greeted her with his smile that melted her heart. He opened his arms to her, and she gladly fell into them and his warm kiss.  
  
Several shocked faces walked by, but they were hardly visible to Hermione. People she hardly knew, people she hardly cared about. As long as she was with Draco, things seemed so much easier.  
  
They made their way to Hogsmeade and entered a small cafe, which Hermione had never been to before. They sat at a table and ordered breakfast. They quickly ate and afterwards sat talking for a bit before returning to the snowy outdoors.  
  
Hermione wasn't at all surprised to see heads turning in their direction as they walked hand in hand down the street. But quite frankly, she no longer cared. She no longer worried about "what if" she and Draco broke up, because she knew that it would not happen.  
  
She rested her head on his warm shoulder, and he put his arm around her and pulled her closer.  
  
Hermione saw Parvati Patil approaching. "Hermione! You're with Draco?! Why didn't you tell me?" she shrieked as soon as she was in close enough proximity.  
  
Hermione merely smiled and winked at her before they moved on.  
  
"Oh no," Hermione heard Draco utter from next to her. She could feel his entire body tense.  
  
"What is it, Draco?" she asked, looking up into his face. His eyes were directed straight ahead of him, not blinking or moving.  
  
"It's my father...what the hell is he doing here?"  
  
Hermione followed his gaze, and sure enough there was Lucius Malfoy talking to a short middle-aged wizard.  
  
"What should we do, Draco?" she asked, her heart racing again.  
  
Draco looked down into her brown eyes, quickly kissed her, and then began walking steadily ahead. "He was going to find out sometime, Hermione, he was going to find out sometime..."  
  
They had reached him. They had reached Lucius Malfoy, who was now standing alone gazing intently at his son.  
  
"Draco? Granger? What on earth are you two doing here together?" he demanded.  
  
"Father..." Draco took a deep breath. Hermione had no idea what he was going to say, but she knew how much courage this must be taking.  
  
"Father, as you know this is Hermione Granger. She is my girlfriend. I would do anything for her, and I don't care what your opinion is. We have a relationship and I just thought you should... know..."  
  
Lucius Malfoy shifted his gaze from his son to Hermione. "Hermione Granger. A muggle?" He looked back at his son.  
  
Draco let out a heavy breath, "No, father, she is a witch."  
  
Lucius was looking at his son with a sort of contempt. "But muggle- born...Wait until your mother hears about this..."  
  
And at that moment, Narcissa Malfoy, whom Hermione recognized from the Top Box at the Quidditch World Cup, walked up behind her husband and said, "About what, dear?"  
  
Lucius pointed at Hermione and replied, "Well, your son has got himself a lovely girlfriend. Only one problem. She's a filthy mudblood."  
  
Hermione knew that shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.  
  
Draco made an angry noise and began in quite a loud voice, "Father, I will not have you talking about Hermione like that. I've already told you I don't care what your opinion is. I still love her."  
  
Although Lucius's scowl grew more vicious, Hermione was more than surprised to see Narcissa's mouth turn up into a slight smile.  
  
"How wonderful dear!" she moved up to hug Draco. "I'm all for it. You've needed a steady girlfriend..."  
  
Lucius snorted behind her.  
  
Narcissa rounded on him and said very sternly, "Lucius Malfoy, this is your son. Your son has his own life, which has nothing to do with you and your little games. Leave them alone or I'll..."  
  
Hermione and Draco never found out what she would do. Draco whispered gently in her ear, "Let's go, my mum will handle it," and they glided away.  
  
Hermione was stunned. "Did that go well? I couldn't really tell..." she asked, once again very nervous.  
  
Draco smiled at her, "It went better than I thought it would considering my father's a crazy lunatic. My mother, although very much like him in beliefs, cares more about my happiness than anything else." He gave a slight shrug.  
  
Hermione felt a little better. Everyone knew now. The secret was out. Harry and Ron knew. Lucius Malfoy knew. Parvati knew. There would be no more hiding. She felt a smile begin to creep to her face.  
  
"Draco, I love you," she said, standing on her toes to kiss him.  
  
He broke the kiss and replied in that gentle tone, which she loved so much, "I love you too, Hermione."  
  
THE END  
  
A/N: Oh... that's the end. Wow, that felt weird. I've never actually completed such a long fanfiction before (though I guess it's really not all that long). Actually, I'm quite proud . If you've gotten this far, I'd like to thank you VERY much. Hugs you all. Ack, it's over! I can only imagine how JK Rowling will feel to complete her seven book series.  
  
Anyway, I hope the ending wasn't too fast, or cheesy, or anything. Like I said, I've never really finished such a long story before (I don't think...) so I'm not well practiced. Feedback is welcome!  
  
Finally, I would like to thank my reviewers... ALL of you. Heehee, you guys are the ones who kept me writing.  
  
Thanks especially to you guys who were with the story from the beginning, or at least for quite awhile.  
  
Thanks to those of you who put us (meaning myself and "Meru".. if you haven't seen my profile, this is a shared account) on your favourites or author alerts list. Hehe.  
  
Again, one final THANK YOU!!!  
  
Keep an eye out for a new Harry Potter story that I'm planning to write. 


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